This invention relates to methods for compacting low density articles such as used metal beverage cans to reduce their bulk. More specifically, it relates to a new and improved compacting method of this general character that is highly effective in operation and readily adaptable to accommodate articles of a wide range of densities.
In the interest of conservation of metal, it is customary to recycle used metal articles such as aluminum cans of the kind used for beverages. For convenience in handling and to facilitate the recycling process, it is desirable that the cans be compacted into units of substantially uniform size and weight. Apparatus has been proposed heretofore for this purpose, in which one or more charges of used containers supplied by a conveyor to a hopper are weighed and delivered to a chamber, in which they are compacted into a biscuit of given weight and size by a reciprocating ram, the compacted biscuit being discharged from the compactor by a second ram.
In one form of such apparatus, the hopper is mounted at one end of a beam balance and cans are supplied thereto until balance is achieved with a slidable weight on the other end that is set at a selected value. Since even cans of like construction and material are unlikely to be of uniform density because of variations in their condition after use (e.g., crushed or flattened), it is difficult to set the weight on the arm to a value such that overfilling of the hopper with spillage of cans and possible jamming of the machine will not occur. Accordingly, operators tend to set the weight at a low value so as to insure that this will not occur, even though this results in a substantial reduction in production capacity. Moreover, such apparatus cannot function to compress effectively materials whose density is less than about 11/2 pounds per cubic foot, e.g., materials such as aluminum foil, bottle caps, pie pans and scrap.
It is an object of this invention, accordingly, to provide a new and improved compacting method of this character which is free from the above-noted deficiencies of the prior art.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel compacting method of the above character enabling low density articles to be compacted into denser units of uniform size and weight more rapidly and effectively than has been possible heretofore.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of the above character that is capable of compacting articles of a wide range of densities continuously and automatically in a highly effective manner.